Taking Its Time
by fanficsareawesome
Summary: I'm rewriting TVD from the season 4 premiere. Canon till then. I wish the plot was a little more interesting and more closely related to the events of the other seasons so I'm writing my own. This is a Delena story, because they don't get nearly enough screen time on the show. No, I will not ruthlessly murder Stefan. Rated for the future. WIP. How will being a vampire affect Elena?
1. There's No Point

**Hospital- 7 PM**

Elena woke up, confused. Her head hurt more than it ever had when she was…

"Human," she said. "I'm not human anymore. I can't be." She was smart enough to know that Stefan hadn't had enough time to save them both. And she could remember…not much, actually. Just...sinking.

She looked around. She was in a hospital. The walls were white and covered in charts. They were a long way away but she could still read the fine print. Of course. She had heightened senses now. Just like any-she couldn't bear to think it. She hadn't wanted this future for herself.

"That's right," She heard Dr Fell say to her apologetically and she was distracted from her thoughts. "I know I took your choice away, but under the circumstances…"

She looked up at the doctor. She could tell that Meredith was genuinely trying to help. How could she blame her for what had happened? How could she blame Stefan? No, this was all her fault and she wouldn't let anyone else feel guilty.

"Dr Fell, please don't talk about that. I'm tired and we'll talk about this later, but I just don't want to now. I need some answers."

"Are you up for it?" she asked. "I mean, we can't give you pain medication anymore. You're well beyond that stage."

"I'm up for it," she said. She wasn't so sure though. She had a splitting headache.

"Go ahead then."

"Where am I? I know we're in a hospital, but where exactly am I?"

"You're in a new hospital that's under renovation. It's empty and on the outskirts of town, so you won't put anyone at risk."

"Where's Matt?" Had Stefan gotten him out safely?

"Matt is fine," Meredith reassured her, but refused to give her details when she asked.

"Where is everybody else? Are they upset with me?" Elena couldn't stand the thought.

"No, they're at the Grill waiting for me to call them. You've either been asleep or delirious when they've visited, so eventually I sent them away. I said I'd call if you woke up. Do you want me to?"

Elena was wary. Did she want them here? Bonnie and Jeremy- no, she couldn't have them here. What if she hurt them? She was a vampire in transition and she knew she was unpredictable and uncontrollable. No. As much as she needed them, a phone call would have to do. Alaric-oh no! Alaric!

"What happened to Alaric?"

Meredith cringed. She had hoped to avoid this. "Alaric died 4 days ago."

Elena wanted to ask a million questions, but she forced herself to remain silent. This was not the way to do things. Alaric was one of her closest friends, and as of late, the closest thing she had to a parent. And Meredith…Meredith was Meredith. She couldn't hear this from her. She quickly changed the topic.

"I've been asleep for 4 days?"

"You've been in the nightmare phase for 4 days," she corrected. "According to my research, which as you know is not definitive, this normally only lasts 12 to 24 hours, but maybe because you're a doppelgänger it took longer? Your guess is as good as mine. Back to the original question. Should I call someone?"

Stefan. And Caroline. Looking at her pityingly, watching her become the one thing they had also not been given a choice about. They would understand her situation, she knew that. But they would be so sad. Stefan would blame himself. As much as it hurt her, she knew that they had to stay away. At least for now…Then the thought that had been at the back of her mind since the beginning rose to the forefront. Damon. Could she call Damon?

"Elena?" She snapped out of her thoughts.

"Damon. Only Damon," she said decisively. She didn't know if it was the right decision, but she could not do this alone.

Meredith raised an eyebrow, but obediently placed the phone call. Right now, it wasn't her place to judge.

* * *

**Hotel- 9 PM**

Her hair shimmered like strands of metal, even in the dim light of the crescent moon. She stood in front of the large Mystic Hotel. It was an old building, probably built in the 19th century. She was disappointed. Any other time, she would have loved to stay here. Right now, though, she had business to take care of. She picked up her suitcase and walked through the double doors at the entrance.

"May I help you? It's rather late…" the concierge at the hotel asked. He was perplexed by her confident stride-like she was from around here- and wondered why she was here so late. She was no guest, he knew that. They were just about to close at any rate so he wanted to make sure she left soon.

"I'm terribly sorry sir. My flight was delayed and I've had to change a lot of my plans. If you don't mind, could you guide me to the nearest subway station? A big hotel like this must have a map and I'm sure a smart man like you knows his way around town…" The young woman with bronze hair was obviously flirting with him to get what she wanted. And it seemed to be working.

The concierge seemed taken by her and said, "Of course! I'd be happy to help. In fact, why don't you take Harry here with you?" He sent a fidgety looking bellboy with her. She looked at him gratefully before walking out as quickly as she came.

Outside, the woman smiled at the young bellboy. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to a wall behind the building. Then, something strange happened.

The woman's eyes flashed as she glared at the bellboy. Very calmly, she said, "You will forget all the events of this day as soon as I let go of you."

Then, she revealed her fangs and sank them into his neck. His fresh blood flowed into her system and she sighed in relief. It had been ages since she had eaten. She dug her teeth further into his flesh, slowly draining him of blood.

He looked up at her, stunned and sad before he dropped to the ground, dead. It was almost a pity- he was so young and sweet. The compulsion hadn't even been required. Poor guy. She dropped him and walked to the subway station.

* * *

**The Vampire Diaries**

**Season 4**

* * *

**Hospital- 10 PM **

Damon sighed as his car neared the hospital. He would have gotten there faster if he had run, but he had needed time to think. He got out slowly and rushed to Elena's room. Enough thought. He needed to see her now.

"Took you long enough," Meredith growled. As much as she hated it, she felt a bit guilty and was dying to deflect the blame.

"I'm not the one that turned her, Meredith."

"As it turns out, you are, Damon. But this isn't the time for that conversation, Damon. She wants to talk to you now. Before she suddenly gets filled with bloodlust…"

Damon was stunned, but he said no more. She needed him to stay with her for now, so he would.

Hesitantly, he pushed the door open. Seeing Elena -she looked so scared and alone- he quickened his step to rush to her side. Then, abruptly, he stopped himself. She had chosen Stefan. Was she sure she wanted him her? Why him?

Elena, of course, was oblivious. She smiled warmly at the familiar face.

"Damon," she sighed as relief flooded over her. She wasn't alone anymore.

"Elena," he said, showing no emotion. He still wasn't sure what to expect. At first, when he had heard about the incident at the bridge, he was angry. With Stefan, with Matt, with Elena, with everything in sight. Then, he was relieved. Elena was alive, sort of. Now…he wasn't sure. He had to be calm for now, though. Whatever he felt, it wasn't important at the moment.

"No hug? Nothing?" Elena looked at Damon, hurt and confused. Of course she had chosen Stefan, but they were still friends, right? The prospect of a lifetime without Damon's friendship was bad enough, but an _eternity?_ This wasn't right. What had gone wrong?

"I'm sorry," Damon found himself apologizing to her yet again. "It's the shock, I guess. I know it's been four days, but I haven't had time to prepare for this. Hey, so why did you call _me_ anyway?" The 'instead of Stefan' was obvious from the tone of his voice.

"Because you won't judge me. Damon…I need you right now."

He leaned forward to hug her and she burst into tears. Elena was not ready for this. Immediately, his instinct to protect her kicked in and he whispered in her ear reassuringly. This seemed to soothe her, so he went on, stroking her hair slowly until she pulled away and smiled at him.

"Thank you," she whispered hoarsely. Then, she cleared her throat and sat up straight.

"Damon, what am I going to do?"

"You're going to drink some blood and then let Stefan control your decisions for the rest of eternity."

"Damon! Please!" Elena was concerned.

"Okay. First, you need to feed. It's the last part of transition. Meredith said your timelines were messed up. So we don't know how long you have to prepare yourself before you..." He stopped awkwardly.

Elena took a breath and nodded. After all, she was going to have to complete the transition soon anyway. Jeremy had lost enough people already and he would never let her die. Damon brought in a compelled woman, about 20.

"I'll stop you if I need to," he reassured her.

And with that, Elena bit into the warm flesh near the woman's neck and searched for an artery.

* * *

**Road- Going to the Salvatore house- 11 PM**

It had been an hour since Elena had fed on the woman. Still, she insisted that she was fine. She wanted to go home, so without a word, he got in his car with her and started driving home. Something told him she wouldn't take too well to using her vampire abilities so soon after turning. As it was, she had only agreed to complete the transition so Jeremy would not have to deal with another loss. He knew she was filled with a sense of self-loathing. And she would have questions too. Hell, he had questions himself.

Immediately, Elena started them off. "I'm confused, Damon. I didn't plan for this."

"I'm confused too," Damon said sadly. After feeding her his blood when he thought she was going to die, he knew that she had never wanted to become a vampire.

"Please, Damon. No more secrets. Tell me everything."

So he did. He told her about every conversation he had had since he met her that she had not been around for. Elena's heart almost shattered when he told her about the deal he had made with Stefan."

"Damon. I planned to spend a life without you."

"What?" Elena's eyes welled up as she heard Damon's hurt tone. She could almost feel his walls coming up. What ached even more was the look he gave her. His sapphire eyes were filled with pain and she realized that he had come to expect this pain from her. How many times had she hurt him like this?

"No, I don't mean it like that. It's just…I understand how stupid that was now. I don't regret choosing Stefan. But if I had known that I had set myself up to spend a lifetime without you…I wouldn't have chosen."

"I've stopped caring Elena. I don't blame you and I never did."

Damon could tell that Elena no longer needed his support. She was stronger.

The car was filled with an awkward silence. Elena couldn't take the tension any longer and broke it.

"Damon, do you still love me?"

"Elena…" Damon sighed. He was amazed that Elena had asked the question. Sort of proud, really. That didn't mean he wanted to answer it.

"Damon, I need to know."

"I don't want to."

"What?" Elena sighed. "Answer the question."

"I just did. I still love you but I most definitely don't want to. I would love to move on with my life. I will probably never be able to forget you. I don't want to have to forget you. But you made a choice. You made the right choice and I want you to be happy."

Damon picked up his cell phone. "Now, I'm going to call Stefan and Bonnie and Caroline over to the house. But before I do, I'm going to stop the car right here. If you have anything to ask, now's the time."

Elena took a deep breath. This would take a while.

* * *

**The Salvatore house- 12 Midnight**

Stefan's clenched his jaw and tapped his foot as he waited impatiently for Dr. Fell to call with news of Elena's condition. He couldn't help but feel responsible for her situation. _Why _hadn't he saved her? Why did Damon's angry words only make sense to him after Elena was admitted into the hospital? There was nothing he could do now but hope-pray- that Elena would forgive him.

He gave in and dialled Meredith's number. One ring. Two rings. She picked up on the third ring.

"Stefan." Meredith didn't sound too pleased.

"Dr. Fell. How is Elena? Have there been any changes?" Apparently, this was exactly what Meredith had hoped to avoid, for she instantly tried to avoid answering.

"Dr. Fell, is she…dead?" Stefan probed further. He really didn't want to know the answer to that.

"Stefan, she woke up 5 hours ago."

"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU CALL ME?"

"Stefan, shut up and calm down, okay? This hasn't exactly been easy for anyone. I didn't call you because she told me not to. Anyway, I thought Damon would take her home…"

"Damon?" Stefan's voice broke as he uttered his brother's name. Didn't Elena trust him anymore? He had never imagined things could go so wrong in just a few days…He hung up the phone and tightened his grip on the armrest as he waited impatiently for Elena and Damon to return. His thoughts were interrupted by a ring. He looked at the caller id.

"Damon," he growled.

"Relax, baby brother. I'm bringing her home immediately. The worst is over, she's a vampire. So unless she wants me to stay, you have nothing to worry about, I'll be out of this town before you know it."

Stefan visibly relaxed at Damon's words. Then he heard it. Elena was a vampire. This would change everything.

He heard a car pulling up outside the house. He rushed to the driveway and flung his arms around Elena. He was relieved to find that she returned the embrace warmly. She didn't hate him.

"Elena," he sighed into her hair. "I'm so sorry."

She pulled away and looked at him. Stefan.

"You don't need to apologize," she reassured him. "You just did what I told you to do. You saved Matt's life." She hugged him again and held his hand as they sat down on the car bumper together to discuss the events of the day.

Damon looked on at Elena and Stefan. They deserved to be happy. He had to leave soon. Whatever happened now, Stefan could handle it.

* * *

**The Salvatore house- 5 AM**

Damon watched Elena sleep. The shock of transition meant she was easy to tire out. But it also meant he needed to leave- soon, before she woke up to drink blood again. Oh God! His compulsion would wear off and she would start remembering things. Things that he had said, things he had done…Yes, he definitely had to leave. Besides, she had chosen Stefan. His anger had worn off easily, but the pain of rejection still stung. Without her, there was nothing worth staying for in Mystic Falls. He had promised to leave. So he gathered his things and opened the door.

"Damon?"

Damn, her senses were heightened. She had heard the door creak. Damon cursed himself for making a rookie mistake like this.

"Damon, where are you going?" Elena asked sleepily. She noticed the suitcase. Shocked, she questioned him further.

"Are you _leaving?_ Damon, were you seriously going to leave in the middle of the night? Without even saying goodbye?"

"Isn't it obvious? Look I don't like what I was about to do, but you must understand that I had to." He slipped out of the door.

"But _why?_"

"Because, Elena," he put his hand on the door handle, preparing to leave. "It will always be Stefan. You made a choice here and I'm trying to respect it. You're both great people and you deserve each other, so I'm stepping out of the way. But forget about me. Enjoy your life." Damon smiled sadly and tried to close the door. But it wouldn't close. He looked down and saw Elena's foot jamming the door.

"I won't let you leave, Damon," she said determinedly.

"That's exactly why I have to, Elena."

* * *

**The Mystic Grill- 10 AM**

Bonnie sighed. How much longer could she keep it from her friends that Klaus was still alive? They were so happy… But she knew Elena wasn't safe. Caroline wasn't safe. When could she tell them though?

"Hey, Bonnie! What's up?" Caroline interrupted her thoughts. Obviously nothing could get her down. Caroline was still…sunshiny even though they had just almost lost their best friend.

"Oh, hey Caroline," she replied and smiled as much as she could.

"Is something wrong?" Caroline's normally happy face became concerned. "Bonnie, are you okay? You've been acting really weird since we killed Klaus."

"Of course! Everything's fine!" Bonnie laughed nervously. As if she needed to be reminded of that. "I'm just waiting for Jeremy." She picked up her phone and pretended to text him.

"I'm sure," Caroline scoffed. "I know you better than that! You're hiding something."

She paused then said, "Did something go wrong when you killed him?" Ugh. Vampire instincts? Nope, just Caroline's weird 'I always have to know what's going on' instincts.

Bonnie gasped, "No, of course not!"

"Tell me," Caroline said and glared at Bonnie.

"Are you trying to compel me?" Bonnie giggled.

"No! Maybe. Yes," Caroline admitted. "But only because you won't tell me what's going on! Why would you be seeing Jeremy?"

"Let it be, Caroline. I'll tell you soon, okay?"

Caroline glanced at the time. "Fine I'll drop it. But only because I'm having dinner with Tyler at ten o' clock and I need to get ready. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay." Bonnie smiled inwardly. Thank goodness.

* * *

**The Salvatore house- 12 Noon**

"Elena, seriously, let me go!" Damon said, exasperated. "It was cute at first, but now it's annoying."

Elena had followed him around blocking the doors for hours now and he was getting annoyed. He knew she was a new vampire and he was stronger than her. But he couldn't leave by hurting her. He was already hurting her enough.

"Promise you won't leave." If he was going to be stubborn, so was she. He just couldn't leave! Not now, after all they had been through.

"Elena…"he sighed and stepped closer to her.

She looked up expectantly and he put his hands on her neck to support her head. God, how was he going to leave her? He had to, no matter how he felt about it. So he continued.

"Don't you see why I have to leave? I'm just trying to make things easier for you. I'm not going to screw up any time soon so you're just going to have to let me go." There it was. All the anger that he had held inside for the four days that Elena was unconscious was bubbling up to the surface. When she was in danger, it had evaporated to make room for an ocean of worry. Now, it was back. He clenched his fists, trying to control what he said.

"What would I have to do to get you to stay? I'll do _anything_!" Elena didn't care that he was angry with her. She deserved it, after all. And this wasn't the time for that!

"I know you would love to do things to me-" He was interrupted almost immediately.

"Damon!" she rolled her eyes to feign annoyance and looked at him affectionately. Damon cursed under his breath. Those eyes! She was going to make it difficult to leave.

"But I can't accept. It's too difficult for both of us to stay away from each other if we're in the same house."

"I can resist you, Damon," Elena said. Poor girl. She sounded like she meant it.

"Can you?" He pushed her against a wall and leaned so they were almost touching. He could hear Elena's heartbeat becoming faster and her breathing becoming erratic.

"I don't think you can. Our problems started because you can't," he said and stepped away. Elena shot off a long line of expletives as Damon looked on in amazement. Those vampire emotions were really affecting her in strange ways. He kind of liked this new side of Elena.

"No, you're absolutely right. But please don't leave town," Elena gave in and pleaded. Finally, she had admitted to feeling a connection between them. But this was not the right context! Even she knew that. She looked into his eyes, searching for anything that told her he might stay.

Ugh. Those eyes again. "Fine," he conceded. "I'll just stay somewhere else."

"Thank you," she said, sounding genuinely relieved. He hoped he would be able to keep his promise.

* * *

**Subway Station- 7 PM**

"Thank you for helping me there," the bronze-haired woman smiled.

"It was no trouble," the old assistant smiled back.

"I might buy a house there; I've heard it's beautiful in the summer."

"That's true. Either way, we'll make sure you get to Mystic Falls in no time."


	2. Distance Is Good, Right?

**Author's Note: **Well, there has been almost no response for this story, but writing it somehow makes my other story better, so I'm going to keep this going. Alright, second chapter is here, so enjoy, I guess :) Updates on that one whenever I have time to put it up. Thank goodness it's already written :)

* * *

**Road-10 PM**

Damon walked slowly along the road, contemplating his decision to leave. His dark hair blew as he faced the wind directly. It was almost like he was torturing himself. A punishment for lying to Elena, the one thing he had sworn never to do. He did promise her that he would never leave, but what kind of brother would he be then? He loved Elena, but his feelings were obviously not the priority here.

Pushing all these thoughts aside, he decided that whether it was the right thing to do or not, he would have to leave now. Stefan deserved Elena. No more than him, but nevertheless, he deserved Elena. Completely. So this was necessary, right?

All he was sure of anymore was that he had to leave Mystic Falls. He'd come back in a month, maybe two. Elena would never forgive him. But then there was a chance she'd never notice his absence. There would be no chance encounters at her house or his.

He sat down on a bench, elbows on his knees, hands supporting his head.

A large midnight blue SUV parked next to him. The driver rolled down the window.

"Well, if it isn't Damon Salvatore. Just who I wanted to see," he smiled at Damon.

"This is not the time, Tyler!" He growled at the hybrid. Then a thought struck him. Wasn't he supposed to be dead by now?

Before he could react, a powerful arm threw him into the back through one of the windows. Damon could still hear the shards of glass falling after he landed. Wow. Violent. What was up with Wolfboy today?

"Tyler, what the hell?" When did Wolfboy become so strong anyway? Last time he checked, he was a new vampire…hybrid thing.

"This will be much more pleasant if you shut up, Damon." Damon swore that if it weren't for Elena he would be ripping Tyler's heart out now.

"Things might even be nice if you told me where you're going!" Damon snapped.

"You'll figure it out soon enough, Damon," Tyler smiled menacingly at Damon as if he had read his mind.

What the hell was going on?

* * *

**A House- 11 PM**

"I see you found your way here," a young, green-eyed woman said to the bronze haired woman beside her. Their meeting had been planned over the internet a few weeks ago. Now they were finally face to face.

"Yes, I did. I'm so glad to see you here, Natalie," the other woman smiled back warmly and hugged her. Natalie was an old friend. Well, sort of a friend.

Her emerald eyes shone in delight and slight amusement as she said, "You're welcome to stay as long as you'd like."

The other woman's blue eyes sparkled in return. "I'm sure I'll love Mystic Falls…"

* * *

**The Vampire Diaries**

**Season 4**

* * *

**The Salvatore House- 8 AM**

"You miss him, don't you?" Stefan asked Elena. He was worried. Transitioning was the worst time for distress. At least when you became a vampire you had that convenient little switch. But now, as a human with extreme emotions, it must be very difficult for her.

"Don't you?" Elena asked. "I'm okay, I guess. I got him to stay in town. But I do miss him."

"I'll take you to see him today," Stefan smiled reassuringly. He hoped he wasn't being too transparent. Secretly, he was worried that if Elena went alone, her emotions would make her do something she would regret.

"Okay." She nodded to his relief. He wouldn't have to answer her questions. He was a bit disappointed that even after she was in his arms again, she was still thinking of Damon. He quickly removed these thoughts. What was he thinking? His girlfriend had been through something so traumatic- drowning in the same place her parents had died! Why hadn't he saved her?

Elena could almost feel the guilt rolling off him now. She leaned in to hug him and he hugged her back. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was necessary.

"Thank you for respecting my decision, Stefan. Really, please don't feel guilty. I'm still alive, sort of. And Matt's alive."

Stefan smiled weakly. "I do love you, Elena. You know that, right."

"I do. Thank you." She couldn't bring herself to reciprocate. Not just yet. There was too much distance between them now. Nothing time wouldn't fix. Probably.

She leaned in for another hug, and was met this time by Stefan's lips on her. Obviously, he had noticed her hesitation to proclaim her love for him. After sitting in shock for a little while, she returned the kiss.

"Am I interrupting something?" A familiar voice asked. You could almost hear the smile in her voice. "I'll come back later."

"No!"Elena almost screamed and jumped up to hug her. "Caroline, stay!" This would be so much easier if Caroline was here. She managed to make everything better with her positive outlook and the tension in the room was already thick enough to the point of suffocation.

"Alright then, I'll stay," Caroline smiled. "I missed you, you know? It's been 4 days since you were awake. Why didn't you call me?"

And there it was.

"Caroline, I didn't want to see you hurt," Elena smiled, the smile not quite reaching her eyes. She hoped Caroline was too preoccupied to notice the lie.

She was. Thank goodness.

"Bonnie will be here soon. You'll have some explaining to do then. She's pretty angry. She was really worried about you because her magic couldn't sense you when she turned…"

* * *

**Abandoned Warehouse- 10 AM**

"Tyler, we've been driving for hours now. What time is it?" Damon whined. "Worst road trip ever."

"Oh, stop it, you overgrown man child. It's been 12 hours. Besides, we're here. Get out, or I'll have to throw you like last time.

Damon didn't need that again. He had healed instantly, but his bones still creaked a little. Curse his new blood bag diet. Reluctantly, he jumped out and took in the surroundings.

"Ooh, nice place you have here, Paws...Very 'insert clichéd horror movie here' of you. Abandoned warehouse and all."

"I'm sorry, is the décor not up to your high standards, sir?" Tyler mocked. "My apologies. My body is here and transferring a corpse is not exactly an easy thing to do in Mystic Falls."

Wait what? Tyler's body was right in front of him.

So…this wasn't Tyler?

"How did you not die yesterday Tyler?" Damon asked, feigning indifference.

"Hmm… Getting closer to answers here, are we? Don't worry your brain too much now. I've got someone here to give you the rest of the information."

Damon had another 'wait what?' moment.

"Damon!" A girl rushed out of the warehouse and hugged him. Bonnie?

"What's with the hugging, Judgey?" Damon asked, astonished.

"Elena would KILL me if I got you killed."

"Okay then." What was it with witches and their inability to give you straight answers? He stepped back and looked down at Bonnie.

"Do you know what's wrong with Rover here?"

Bonnie clenched her fists at his use of the nickname.

"Damon, be careful. That…isn't Tyler. It's Klaus."

* * *

**The Salvatore House, Living Room- 11 AM**

"Hey, that's weird," Caroline said, peering at her phone. "I just got a text from Bonnie. She says she got held up in traffic. This is Mystic Falls, not New York. There's NEVER any traffic here…"

"I'm sure it's nothing," Elena reassured her. Bonnie had her own reasons for keeping secrets. She had learned a long time ago not to meddle.

"Hmm…Okay then." Stefan cut in. "This is awkward."

"Stefan, Elena, really, I don't mind coming back later," Caroline smiled and backed away a little.

"Caroline, it's not you. Something's weird between me and Elena."

"Even after she made her choice?" Caroline asked, obviously unaware that Stefan didn't know about this.

"_She _is right here, Caroline!" Elena burst out, annoyed.

"Elena chose one of us? Really?" Stefan's eyes were pleading now, boring holes into her head, begging her to choose him again. She was not strong enough for this.

"Stefan," she began. "I have a bit of a headache. I don't think I have much time. I need to drink blood."

"So…decision here. About your diet." Stefan grimaced. This would not be fun for either of them.

"My diet will be blood. From the bags."

"Elena, are you sure about that? You're still a new one. You may have self-control issues!" Caroline was the concerned friend as always.

"No, no. I'm sure. No control issues. I've practiced once."

"You practiced alone? Elena, that's dangerous!" Stefan leaned closer, concerned.

"No, no," she found herself repeating. Then the unease returned as she said, "I practiced with Damon." She instantly regretted it. Stefan and Caroline both knew her. They would see the sorrow on her face from remembering Damon. Nobody knew exactly what she was going through except Damon, because she'd explained everything to him yesterday. And she knew, something told her that he understood.

* * *

** Going to the Salvatore House- 11 PM**

"_I was almost ready, you know?" Damon had said to her in the car. His voice was so low; she wouldn't have picked it up without her vampire hearing._

"_Ready to do__ what?" Elena had asked._

"_Ready t__o leave you and never look back." What? Elena's eyes moistened as the tears welled up in them. Damon could never leave her! She needed him too much. He was her rock, her life suppor__t when__ something went wrong. If she said she didn't care about him, she was lying. The only problem was how complicated the situation was. She was in love with his brother. He was in love with her. And…she had intense feelings for him. More than she could explain._

"_Please don't cry. I thought I was going to die that day. You left me to die alone. And then, when I didn't die…I had nobody in this world. Stefan…after months of brooding and following Klaus around, he finally came back to you. I wasn't a brother anymore. I was an obstacle to the girl he loved. Loves. Caroline, Bonnie, Jeremy, Tyler, Matt, they all hate me. And worst of all," he paused here and looked into her eyes, demanding her understanding. "Alaric. The only one who really understood me? I lose everyone I really care about. I lost him too."_

_Elena was starting to feel like Stefan now. Guilty. Without meaning to, she always managed to hurt Damon. She never hurt anyone else, only Damon. Why?_

"_You hurt me because I'll never leave you," Damon said, reading her expression. "You know that if you hurt anyone else the way you hurt me, they'll walk away before you even get the chance to say goodbye. No need to feel guilty. You're just human."_

_When was the last time someone had said that to her? His words sank into her brain. She was just a confused 18-year-old girl who had been through far too much and who had been given responsibilities beyond her years._

"_Were you really going to leave? You promised me you would never leave me…" Elena's voice trailed off. She was asking far too much. The answer she could receive terrified her._

"_I'm sorry Elena. I was. Things were different then. I thought I had a chance back then. I'm not talking about you. I thought that for once maybe things in my life would go right. I was actually happy in a twisted kind of way. Besides, there was that deal I made with Stefan…"_

"_Wait what?" Elena's eyes narrowed._

"_Stefan didn't tell you?" Damon furrowed his eyebrows. He hadn't known that Stefan kept secrets from Elena now. Not after the Ripper incident. "Shit Elena, I had no idea. Just forget about it."_

"_Tell me Damon."_

"_Stefan and I promised each other that the brother you didn't choose would leave Mystic Falls for good."_

_What the hell? "Why would you promise something like that?"_

"_I didn't want to. But I figured at least one of us deserved to be happy, so I went along with it."_

"_Is there anything else you're not telling me?"_

"_Plenty. How much time do we have?" Damon sighed and leaned into his seat. This would be a long drive._

"_We have eternity now."_

"_I kissed Katherine."_

"_What? When? Damon, she's bad for you-"_

"_I know. I kissed her way back, before the ritual, because I thought she was you."_

"_Why are you telling me this?" Elena asked. He was being so honest, spontaneous. Telling her everything, no walls, no restrictions._

"_You needed to know everything. So I'm telling you," He smirked, not really ready, but entirely willing to tell her._

"_But before that, I need to tell you what else happened around that time. Katherine sought me out. She came to the boarding house one day and we kissed. We were going to have sex. Then I asked her whether she ever loved me. She said it was always Stefan." Here Elena gasped, but Damon didn't stop. "It was always going to be Stefan for her. And then..."_

"_I told you exactly what you didn't want to hear, didn't I?" He didn't have to say it. "That's why you snapped Jeremy's neck."_

"_It doesn't rationalize it in any way." She nodded. It was true, but this gave her a deeper understanding of that time. "Still, I'm hoping you know that I'll never do anything of the sort again."_

"_I know."_

"_Jeremy's a great kid. Little asshole, but I guess that's why he reminds me of me as a human," he smirked and she laughed._

_Then she remembered something else she needed to ask._

* * *

**Abandoned Warehouse- 11 AM**

"What do you mean Tyler's Klaus?" Damon was livid, but had it under control. For now.

"Exactly that, Damon," Tyler strolled in. "Your witch friend here cast one of those convenient little soul transfer spells. Long story short, Tyler and I are both stuck in his hybrid body until your idiotic band of supernatural creatures manages to pull my body up so Bonnie can put me back in."

"Now, I'll be gone for an hour or so. Have fun, chat, I don't care. But I had one of my witches trap you in the area, so don't try to escape. You, my friends, are my leverage."

And with that, Klaus left.

Immediately, Damon turned to Bonnie. "Okay, why the hell would you do something like that, Bonnie? Did you suddenly become a fan of the Original Hybrid? Or were you just bored?"

"Look, Damon, I had no choice!" she screamed. "As it turns out, Klaus DID originate your bloodline."

At this Damon's anger faded and he smirked. "Alright then, Sabrina. Welcome to the bad boys' club."

"Damon, what are you talking about?"

"Don't you get it? I understand where you're coming from. Having to keep secrets. Having to make the tough decisions. And of course, dealing with the consequences. Been there, done that."

Bonnie nodded incredulously. When had Damon become so much like her?

"Wait, so you're not even a little pissed that Klaus is still alive and in Tyler's body?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Silly Judgey. Of course I'm pissed! We spent months trying to get rid of the guy. But I get it. What I don't get is why you didn't tell anybody else about this."

"They'd never forgive me. Actually, I'm surprised you're being so accepting."

"Being angry with you means a brain whammy." Damon smirked. Bonnie laughed.

"Why do you make sure nobody ever sees this side of you?"

"What side of me? Look, this is a really awkward conversation, so let's leave it for when I'm drunk, okay?" He eyed her warily, as if he was worried she would pester him further.

"Klaus has bourbon in his warehouse. Not that I'm going to push you further, but I have a feeling we're going to be waiting a long time." She got up to go inside. She was stopped when Damon stepped in front of her.

"Why did you do what you did, Bonnie? Elena wasn't a vampire when we were planning to kill Klaus. Wouldn't you love a chance to kill a bunch of vampires in one go?"

"There was Caroline, Damon!" Bonnie hesitated a little. "And besides, we all care too much about Stefan and you've done so much for us. And I had to protect those I love."

"Like Jeremy."

"Look who's incredibly perceptive today," Bonnie mocked, then looked him in the eye. "Yes, I still love Jeremy, Damon. Do you really love Elena, Damon?"

"More than anyone will ever know," he responded. "I love Elena."

"Why aren't you at the boarding house, then?" she asked, still sceptical.

"I had to leave," he said sadly, then proceeding to explain.

"You jackass, that's ridiculous!" she said when he was finished. "As much as I hate to admit it, she needs you, so you have to go back. That is not a request, it is an _order_." So much for their temporary truce…

"Err, Broomhilda? We're kind of trapped in the middle of nowhere here!"

"Right," she said determinedly. "I'm working on that."

* * *

** Going to the Salvatore House- 11 PM**

"_Damon, I'm getting my memories back," she had told him._

"_Oh, that's good," he said nonchalantly._

"_Damon, I'm serious! The times you compelled me, remember?" she was sarcastic now._

"_What do you want me to say, Elena?"_

"_Well, you obviously compelled me for a reason. You didn't want me to remember and I want to know why."_

"_I still don't." Just as she was about to protest, he said, "Where do you want to start?"_

"_The night I first met you. When you told me what I wanted. Why did you care? I had already told you I wasn't Katherine."_

"_Stupid question Elena." He was amazed she even felt the need to ask. "I can care about you whether you look like Katherine or not." He mock whispered, "Because believe it or not, you're actually a pretty good person." He smirked fully this time. She reached forward to touch his hand and he pulled back immediately. Obviously some things still had to be brought out into the open._

"_Okay, next question. What made you believe me when I said I wasn't Katherine? Stefan practically stalked me for 5 months to make sure. You believed me in a few moments…"_

"_Elena, you are not like Katherine. You smile differently, you laugh differently, and you aren't pretentious. That night, I saw your eyes. That was the difference. Your share her eyes, but hers are old, and filled with experience and pain. Your eyes that night were playful, and innocent like a child's. Katherine is a good liar, but I can usually tell when she's lying. You weren't Katherine. You will never be Katherine."_

"_Do you still believe that I want that? A love that consumes me?"_

"_Yes. You want it, but you are more wary of it now. You have played with fire for far too long and you have been burned badly. Step back for a while and I think you'll find that same desire rising in you again." She had smiled at him gratefully. Despite her hurting him, leaving him to die alone, he was there for her._

"_Next flashback?" he asked._

"_Wait. Last question about this one. Why didn't you tell me you met me first? The night we thought you were dying?"_

_He sighed. He had hoped she would skip over this one. Already he felt as though he was divulging too much information. As usual, he was trusting Elena with too much of himself. Setting himself up to get hurt yet again._

"_I didn't tell you because I wanted it to be real. I know you think it would have made a huge difference. It wouldn't have. We both know that's not what you meant. You meant that you would have chosen me if I was the one that saved you from that dark time in your past. You weren't talking about the chronological order of events at all. If you chose me, I didn't want it to be over something as trivial as this."_

_She knew he was right. Damn it. She was no closer now than she had been when she had woken up at the morgue. Still, for some reason it felt like the answers had all been laid out in front of her, but she couldn't see them. So she persevered._

"_Okay, next flashback."_

"_I'm ready when you are," he replied, though he wasn't entirely sure. He hadn't intended to relive these memories when he was out making them. He didn't regret them, but they were meant to be a secret, from Elena at least._

"_Okay then. You told me you loved me. Then you compelled me, put the necklace on me and left."_

"_That sounds about right."_

"_On our trip to Georgia, you took me necklace, but you refused to compel me because you wanted it to be real. What was different this time around?"_

"_This? I wanted this to be real too, but you had a lot going on. I had to say it, so I said it. It was especially difficult to compel you because I wanted you to know so badly. But if I had rushed this, things wouldn't have ended well. For either of us."_

"_Why do you always return the necklace?"_

"_Did you want me to wear it?" he asked her jokingly._

"_I mean, what do you get out of it?"_

"_I get tiny moments with you, Elena. The highlights of my life." At this, Elena blushed and turned away. How else would someone respond to that? She responded with another question. The question she knew that it was not the time for. The rest of the car journey was silent, until the boarding house loomed into view. Elena and Damon were both deep in thought._

* * *

**A House- 2 PM**

"Are you sure you're not hungry, Natalie?" The younger woman with the bronze hair asked. "I really don't mind if you go out and have a human meal…"

"I'm not going to desert you now, Areana," Natalie smiled. "You just got here. You're my guest. And besides, I'm far from human."

"Well, that's true…"

"This will be great. Everything will go according to plan, don't worry. You will find then eventually."


	3. That's Why I Chose You

**Author's Note: Could it be? Could it really be? An update from _me?_ Yes, apparently. I actually had this one finished for a while, but I kind of forgot to put it up. Sorry about that. Really. Thank you to all the people who take the time to read my fic, because I truly appreciate every one of you. Anyway, just a little warning over here. While I'm still Delena (COMPLETELY Delena), I felt the need to give Stelena a nice sendoff in this story. They've been through a lot, and it wouldn't be right to just throw Damon and Elena into each others' arms. So...you might not be entirely pleased with this chapter, but I swear I'll make up for it. Without further ado...**

* * *

**Abandoned Warehouse- 3 PM**

"Thought of anything yet? I'm sure at least one of you witches has needed a travelling spell at some point in time…" Damon was getting bored now. Three hours in a warehouse with a witch that didn't particularly like you did that to a guy.

"Well, obviously, Damon, but I don't have access to any of my grimoires here…" Bonnie wasn't exactly full of energy either. Still, in the hours they had been stuck together, her respect for Damon had grown just a little bit. Not that she would ever admit it. That same nice guy was the one who had turned her mother and done a whole lot worse.

"Can't you do that talking to your ancestors thing?"

"No, Damon," she said exasperated. Did he have no patience at all? "Once again, I need my grimoires. And besides, they cut me off, so I doubt they'd be much help."

"First thing you're doing when we get back is memorising every spell in all those books."

Bonnie calmed herself down before responding. "Whatever, Damon. I've got work to do here, so instead of sending snarky comments my way, why not make yourself useful and bring that vampire hearing into play? You know, eavesdrop like you always do."

Damon rolled his eyes, but cursed himself for not thinking of that earlier. It wasn't a bad suggestion, and it gave him a distraction from the hunger he was beginning to feel. Why hadn't he thought to grab a blood bag earlier? Shaking his head, he focussed his ears on the conversation outside and smiled when he picked it up.

"_Rebekah, what are you doing here?"_

"_I know about the transfer, Nik." _Who had told Rebekah about that?

"_Sister, I couldn't risk telling you…"_

"_Frankly, I couldn't care less, Nik."_

"_Why are you here then?"_

"_I want to see what you did to the man that used me for his selfish purposes…" _She was talking about him. Not interesting.

"_I was wondering if you might let me have a go at torturing him." _He didn't like where this conversation was heading.

"_Sure. I'm sure inside, they're trying to escape. I wonder when Bonnie will figure out that magic doesn't work here…" _Damon quickly conveyed this new information to Bonnie, who nodded and slumped back to the wall to sleep.

"_Anyway, you can go in now, Rebekah. Release the witch. She'll tell her friends what she needs to."_

Damon stopped listening and pretended to sleep as her heard the click of the door handle. The elegant blonde, dressed in skinny jeans, high heels and a summery blue top gracefully strode towards him, picking up Bonnie and shoving her in the direction of the door. Bonnie quickly got the message and scurried out. He hoped she would get to the group soon.

That left him and Rebekah alone in a locked room. Not an ideal situation.

"Hello, Damon. We meet again, it seems."

"Great to see you again Rebekah!" he said sarcastically.

"Not so much fun being used for information, is it?"

"Not so much fun being forced off the bridge your parents died on either, I imagine."

Rebekah looked away, embarrassed. Even as insensitive as she was, she hadn't known the significance of the bridge until just now. And as far gone as her humanity was, she still valued family over everything else.

"Coincidence, I assure you. I swear I didn't know about that little detail. Anyway, the little bitch stabbed me in the back, so she deserved it."

At this, Damon snapped. He lunged for her neck and pinned her to the wall. "Don't you _dare_ talk about Elena that way!" he snarled.

Rebekah reversed the situation so she now held Damon in a lock. "Look who's suddenly begun to respect women!" She tightened her grip on his chin and smirked smugly when he gasped as air suddenly left him. "Pity you didn't learn that lesson earlier. Anyway, you'll have plenty of time to repent."

* * *

**The Vampire Diaries**

**Season 4**

* * *

**The Salvatore House- 4 PM**

After five long hours of meaningless, **awkward**chit-chat with Stefan while Elena desperately searched for any possible out, she gave in to fate and decided to talk to him. Really talk to him. If she was ever going to, this was her chance. They were alone in the room for an hour while Caroline went on a blood bag run. Caroline didn't like using her vampire speed.

"Stefan," she finally turned to him, and immediately, his head shot up and his emerald eyes looked into her brown ones. How would she ever find the courage to say what she needed to say? She hadn't even fully admitted anything to herself yet!

"Are you ready to answer, Elena?" Stefan wasn't usually so straightforward. Right now, he was desperate.

"Yes. I chose you," she said, and his eyes visibly brightened, but they didn't retain as much hope as they had earlier. Somehow, he had found out. On a subconscious level he knew what was about to come.

"The day I was in Matt's truck, before Rebekah came in front of the vehicle, Matt asked me to make a choice. He said I was at exactly the same distance from both of you. I could let him drive on towards Damon or I could ask him to turn around so I could go back towards you. I made my choice."

"I was the reason you were on that bridge in the first place," Stefan nodded, his head heavy with guilt yet again. "But there's more you're not telling me. Isn't there?"

"While I was driving back to you, I called Damon. To say goodbye. I told him about the choice I had just made. Everyone was back at home. I had to come back to you. The difficult part was when he asked me to make another choice. He asked me who I would pick if it was just you and him."

"And what did you say?" Stefan's voice trembled as he lowered his head again.

"I said that it would always be you. That while I cared about Damon a lot, I never un-fell for you."

Stefan was troubled. Elena's answers to Damon didn't quite match up with the turmoil in their heads right now. Something still wasn't right between them.

"If you chose me, what's the problem?"

"The problem is that I still have unresolved feelings for Damon." Wow, she was getting better at saying things. Must be the vampire emotions.

"I get it. I'll give you some space. Think about it, Elena. You'll have to make a choice. Soon." Stefan had taken that unexpectedly well, but she still felt the pressure to decide. If he was giving her space, why did she feel more claustrophobic with every minute that passed? She found herself missing Damon more than ever with his ability to lighten every mood.

"I'll make a choice. Today," she said decisively. She had strung them both along for enough time.

* * *

**Abandoned Warehouse- 5 AM**

Damon's neck was beginning to ache. In her typical fashion, she had tied his hands to vervain soaked ropes that were attached to the ceiling after she was done mocking him. And in his blood-deprived state, he had no chance in hell of getting out of them.

While he was waiting, he listened to the Original siblings talking outside the warehouse. Their voices were faint. That meant they were near the compound wall. One of them would leave soon while the other would guard him to make sure he didn't escape. He hoped it was Rebekah. She would torture him, but she'd also be easier to escape from if it came to that.

"_Nik, I told you, I want to stay and torture him. You can go investigate the new vampire in town if you want."_

"_Dear Sister-" he began, but was cut off immediately by protests that they were no longer siblings._

"_Rebekah," he began again. "I just don't see why you're bothering with this...commoner." _Damon didn't like the sound of that. Who was Klaus to call him a commoner?

What he wasn't expecting though, was Rebekah's answer. _"Well, I guess that makes the two of us, since I don't see why you bother with Stefan."_

"_Poor little girl, used and rejected by two brothers." _ Damon couldn't help but smirk a little at that. BarbieKlaus definitely deserved that.

"_Well, maybe there's more to it than that." _Wait what? Damon's smile dropped right off his face. Was she insane? Irrelevant- that was no excuse. They had discussed this! There were supposed to be no strings attached! Yet Damon always seemed to find himself surrounded by entire tapestries of complicated messes.

"_As I'm sure Mr Salvatore is listening to this conversation as we speak, maybe you should go back inside and discuss this with him, instead of your older brother who could care less."_

Shit. Awkward situation much? He braced himself for impact just as the blonde Original stormed into the room.

"I assume you heard that. Forget about it." She leaned down to meet his eyes and Damon realized that she was trying to compel him.

"Won't work, sorry," he responded coolly.

"Guess I'll just have to torture your silence then." So typical. Rebekah resorting to violence was as normal as the sun rising in the morning. He decided to spare himself the physical pain and torture himself emotionally instead. He needed a distraction anyway, what with the constant rejection he was getting as of late.

"Or, and this might be a better solution, you could, go out with me." His tone was casual, collected and reasonably sincere. Rebekah looked at him with mild suspicion and a hint of amusement.

"Or I could do that. Off the floor, Salvatore, we have a Grill to get to."

* * *

**Road Outside Hospital- 5 PM**

Caroline was in a rush. She didn't want to be stopped and questioned about the large number of blood bags she was carrying, but she also didn't enjoy using her vampire speed or compelling people to forget it. Her demeanour was calm and she looked inconspicuous enough. That's why she was surprised by a sudden tap on her shoulder.

"Caroline Forbes, I've heard a lot about you," the woman behind her said in a strange accent which Caroline couldn't place.

Swivelling around sharply, she wasn't able to recognize the woman who had spoken. She looked relatively harmless, but she was sure she hadn't seen her in the vicinity when she had entered. Which probably meant she was supernatural. Her hair was an odd blonde colour, which looked strangely familiar to her. Her eyes were a brilliant shade of blue, but marred by the pain that filled them.

"I'm sorry; do I know who you are?" Caroline asked politely, though she knew the answer to that. She wasn't one to forget names or faces easily.

"Silly me, I forgot to introduce myself. Areana."

"Areana. Well, you seem to be new to Mystic Falls." The woman raised her eyebrows and Caroline quickly explained, "We don't see many people in the hospital here."

"Is that because of all the vampires?" She smiled at Caroline, who found it oddly unsettling. For some reason, this smile reminded her of Klaus.

"Well, Caroline, I already know everything I need to about you. So why don't I start telling you about myself?"

Uncomfortable, Caroline looked away and said, "I'm sorry, Areana, I really should be going."

This was met by a firm grip on Caroline's fist. "Stay," Areana commanded; her eyes now determined instead of sad. "Unless Elena Gilbert means nothing to you, you have to stay."

"About Elena?" Caroline was beyond confused now. Who was this woman? Luckily, she was about to tell her.

"Alright, this is a little bit difficult to explain, so I might be all over the place at times. Now it's crucial that you understand every detail. Stop me if you don't understand something. But first, I think you should put me on speakerphone so that the rest of your group can hear this. Whoever's there, you can fill in the rest of your gang later."

Caroline obliged meekly. Areana was clearly very old and powerful, so it wasn't wise to mess with her.

"Good. Thanks for being so nice, I know it must be a little unsettling to have me order you around like this. We have no time for that now, though. I'll begin. My name is Areana."

Caroline nodded, though she didn't understand why the woman was repeating herself.

"Areana Mikaelson. Klaus's twin sister."

"Wait, what?" Caroline couldn't believe it. Another Original vampire? She could see Stefan and Elena exchanging astonished looks on her smart phone, so she assumed they had not known about this either.

"Now, I know that nobody has told you about me. Nobody in my biological family knows about me either, so I don't blame them." She spoke without bitterness. "Anyway, Esther was not told about me, although at times I felt as if she could sense my existence. Mikael sent me away with one of our maids when I was born, but she told me everything about my family. I've lived all around the world and talked to many, many people." She paused and looked at Caroline.

"So when I heard that Tatia had yet another doppelganger, I had to investigate. Niklaus, being the loner he is, would enjoy the opportunity to get in touch with his wolf side. Especially after all that business with Katherine…" Gingerly, she lifted Caroline's wrist and scanned Elena's face with her eyes.

"You really are her mirror image, Elena," she said to the screen. "But somehow, the three of you couldn't be more different. It's fascinating."

Elena didn't know what to say to this, so she settled for silence.

"Wait, so are you a hybrid or what?" Caroline broke in. Was she actually a greater threat than Klaus? Was she lying? She knew too much to be lying. Besides, something told her she could trust Areana.

"I'm a hybrid. When you triggered Klaus's transformation over here in Mystic Falls, you also accidentally triggered mine. The witch Ayana didn't know about me, and so when creating the spell, the two of them didn't exclusively affect Klaus because they weren't expecting more hybrids. Don't worry though," she smiled gently. "I have no interest in creating a pseudo-family of monsters. I assure you, my only interest is protecting Elena."

"Hold on." Elena stopped her. "Why do you care?" It didn't actually make sense. They didn't know each other. Everyone sacrificed their lives for her, but she didn't know Areana personally. Why would she suddenly take an interest in Elena?

"To be honest, I don't. But I feel like I owe it to myself to not let you die. After all, I was partially responsible for Tatia's death. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm not curious about these hybrids. But I have no interest in creating them or letting them be created. Being raised far from my biological family means that, somehow, I lost the crazy gene. I've heard about all their escapades, so I know how you've been affected. Now, do you trust me enough to help me?" The group exchanged looked and nodded indecisively, after being put on the spot.

"Good. Because I know something you probably won't like. But it's not my job to explain that. It's Bonnie's." She left as quickly as she had come, leaving the group to wonder what had just happened.

* * *

**Salvatore House- 7 PM**

Under normal circumstances, the young witch wouldn't have cared about Damon's survival. But at the warehouse, she had discovered genuine kindness in him. And Elena would murder her if she let anything happen to him. Bonnie honestly hoped she wasn't too late getting here.

Flinging the door wide open and rushing upstairs, she ran to the door of Stefan's bedroom, where she heard whispered voices coming from.

"Elena?" she asked nobody in particular, suddenly filled with desperation. "Elena!" she screamed.

"Bonnie?" she heard Stefan say. His soft but audible footsteps came closer to the door when he unlocked it for her.

"Elena, Stefan, you have to help!" She was unceremoniously interrupted by a beep from her cell phone. A text from Damon. What could this be about?

"Sabrina, I'm alright. Leaving warehouse with Rebekah. We're on a 'date'. Guess the blonde bitch is stupider than we thought. Take your time," she read aloud, raising her eyebrows a little bit higher with every sentence.

She sighed in frustration. At least now she would have no excuse not to tell them about Klaus in Tyler's body. Face the truth, she told herself.

"Bonnie, what's going on?" Elena asked, her face visibly concerned.

"Is something wrong?" Stefan's face mirrored Elena's.

How was she going to explain this now?

"I…have something to tell you guys. Something really, really bad."

"Seriously? Could this day get any worse?" That was Caroline's voice coming from Stefan's phone. What did she mean by any worse? Had something else happened?

Stefan and Elena quickly began relating the events of the day to Bonnie.

"Oh my God," Bonnie's jaw dropped as she realized the implications of Klaus being alive. **Two **Original hybrids?

* * *

**Klaus's Room, Bed & Breakfast- 7 PM**

Sometimes Klaus wondered whether Rebekah was adopted. She seemed to take pleasure in being stupid sometimes. Taking Damon out was not only going to harm her later on, but also meant that he- they- had no leverage.

He cursed bitterly, getting more annoyed by how different it sounded coming from Tyler's mouth. If only it didn't have to be Bonnie Bennett, he would be back in his own body by now.

But wait! It didn't have to be Bonnie. There were other Bennett witches, weren't there? There **had** to be. They were tough, but they could all be…persuaded into doing the spell with a little threat against their family.

Klaus quickly turned on his laptop and searched for what he needed. He silently praised the current generation's need to update the world with every minute, mundane detail of their lives.

Finally, he happened upon the information he needed. He was lucky he hadn't killed Mark Zuckerberg when he had had the chance.

Lucy Devereux-Bennett, one of the younger witches in the Bennett bloodline. He had encountered her once before when he was watching Katherine's every move. She was reasonably talented and she lived quite near Mystic Falls. Good.

* * *

**Salvatore House- 8 PM**

After a long, teary explanation about why Bonnie had to save Klaus and a sudden flurry of emotions, Elena and Stefan found themselves alone in the living room again. Slowly, people had trickled out. Bonnie had left the house, Caroline had gotten off the phone and everyone else was apparently preoccupied with their own troubles.

"So, I guess this leaves us…" Stefan attempted.

"I guess it does," Elena nodded. What did you say to a man you once loved so passionately, so intensely, so powerfully if you weren't as certain anymore? If you had lost that fire, that spark?

Stefan seemed to read her mind. "You know, you're not trapped here." Elena looked up into his emerald eyes, now filled with pain. "You can let me go. If you're not sure, you can let me go. Be with whoever you want."

Could she really do that? Could it really be that simple? No. No, she didn't know what she was feeling yet. She was in love with Stefan once, not Damon. She couldn't give up on him that easily.

"I want to be with you, Stefan. I chose you. We can make this work." She didn't know if her words made any sense, if they were actually true, but in that moment, holding his hand in hers, seeing the desperation in his eyes, she had to try.

Leaning forward, she kissed him for the first time in a long while. Stefan seemed surprised at first, his shoulders tense, but he eased into it. Soon, he had her in his arms and was leading her upstairs.

And then, they made love. And just for a while, time stood still. Time went backwards. Everything was like it was before. Before Klaus, before Katherine, before the sacrifice. It was passionate. It was intense. It was powerful.

It was…one-sided. Lying in bed with Stefan was enlightening. They loved each other as much as two people could love each other, didn't they? So why did she feel nothing inside?

* * *

**Me again. Messed up, right? Well, at the very least, I think my Elena's coming to terms with her feelings. It's gradual, but hopefully it's present enough in this chapter that you don't doubt my Delenaness XD**

**Alright, see you soon, I guess...**

**Thank you for reading so far.**


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